The stupid thing here is that Firefox had an about:config option for literally years that worked perfectly to block autoplaying video with or without sound. You just had to set "media.autoplay.enabled" to "false" and it was like magic.

Then starting with v63, they inexplicably broke the option so that it no longer functioned and added about a half-dozen new more granular autoplay-blocking about:config options, none of which actually blocked everything that the old option blocked even when they are all enabled.

It's just really maddening that they'd take away the one thing that absolutely worked, replace it with some broken crap, and now, a few months later, roll out an inferior option that almost certainly still won't block everything that the old option blocked. So now I'm back to having to use userscripts and extensions to squelch everything that the old option handled.

This is a step in the right direction. I would prefer blocking automatic playback of any animated element - video, gif, whatever - without direct interaction. Perhaps then I could reduce the number of things I have to block. If I don't want to hear the auto-playing audio, I almost certainly don't want to see/pay to load the auto-playing video either.

Why are we even wasting time on this? Surprisingly, Edge has the easiest option: Autoplay set to off. No heuristic, no "only if it's playing audio". Just off. Better for me, and my bandwidth.

Agreed. I mean, what this seems to lead to (from what I've seen on some sites), is mute videos autoplaying, and if you actually wanted to watch it, now you have to unmute it and then rewind it (because you missed the beginning audio). That's two clicks. Instead, just let me choose when and if I want to watch it, just one click.

It's easier, it's less bandwidth (which should be good for both parties), and it doesn't annoy your site's visitors.

CNN might have the worst site from a convenience perspective, I leave a WMR headset plugged in my computer and on Firefox reading an article on their site opens WMR home and SteamVR automatically. Then of course there are the autoplaying videos on every article.

Long overdue, although I have had an extension to do this for a while.

as do I, but I've noticed in the past while that the extensions are letting through more and more autoplaying videos, where you think you've gotten away with it and scroll down the page to find the damned video is following you on the right hand side like a stalker.

The stupid thing here is that Firefox had an about:config option for literally years that worked perfectly to block autoplaying video with or without sound. You just had to set "media.autoplay.enabled" to "false" and it was like magic.

Then starting with v63, they inexplicably broke the option so that it no longer functioned and added about a half-dozen new more granular autoplay-blocking about:config options, none of which actually blocked everything that the old option blocked even when they are all enabled.

It's just really maddening that they'd take away the one thing that absolutely worked, replace it with some broken crap, and now, a few months later, roll out an inferior option that almost certainly still won't block everything that the old option blocked. So now I'm back to having to use userscripts and extensions to squelch everything that the old option handled.

This is a step in the right direction. I would prefer blocking automatic playback of any animated element - video, gif, whatever - without direct interaction. Perhaps then I could reduce the number of things I have to block. If I don't want to hear the auto-playing audio, I almost certainly don't want to see/pay to load the auto-playing video either.

At this point, I have to question why the autoplay attribute even exists in the HTML spec. Loud and clear, people who actually use the web have said, 'WE DO NOT WANT THIS.'

This is a step in the right direction. I would prefer blocking automatic playback of any animated element - video, gif, whatever - without direct interaction. Perhaps then I could reduce the number of things I have to block. If I don't want to hear the auto-playing audio, I almost certainly don't want to see/pay to load the auto-playing video either.

At this point, I have to question why the autoplay attribute even exists in the HTML spec. Loud and clear, people who actually use the web have said, 'WE DO NOT WANT THIS.'

Exactly. I always wonder why they keep trying to shove it down our throats. The more they do that the more we resist it. They arent doing themselves any favors.

This is a step in the right direction. I would prefer blocking automatic playback of any animated element - video, gif, whatever - without direct interaction. Perhaps then I could reduce the number of things I have to block. If I don't want to hear the auto-playing audio, I almost certainly don't want to see/pay to load the auto-playing video either.

At this point, I have to question why the autoplay attribute even exists in the HTML spec. Loud and clear, people who actually use the web have said, 'WE DO NOT WANT THIS.'

Unfortunately the people who know what they are doing are not the ones who buy stuff from the ads, and they take priority